As soon as I uttered those words, I could see the worry as well as disbelief mirroring in Noah's eyes. But then again, even I almost didn't believe it and I didn't want to really. And honestly, why would anyone believe that? She was a criminal, a murderer, and what's more important, she was wanted. She knew exactly what she did to Tim and those other girls, so it would be logical that would be taken to a hospital along with Ethan and me. Truth be told, Noah and I were currently walking down a different floor than the one were originally put in, so she probably didn't really expect to see us there, but nevertheless, this was almost like a criminal coming back to their scene of crime; it was straight-up crazy and suicidal.
I looked back at Noah, who started ushering me back to the elevators and then pressed number 8 again and the elevator began ascending, the numbers on its wall changing, until we finally got back to our floor and the iron doors opened and then then closed behind us. 'Ok, so if what you're saying is true, which, to be frank, I still don't entirely believe. I'm not saying that I don't believe you at all or that you're making it up, all I'm saying is that it sounds crazy. You've got to admit that!' I nodded, 'I know Noah, believe me, I don't even think it's true.' 'Exactly! Anyways, as I was saying, if it is true and you did see doctor Rachel Davis in the mine, there's at least one person besides Tim who saw her, and since we can't exactly count on Eztli to tell us anything…' 'So, who exactly do you think saw the doctor in the mine besides me and Tim?' He rubbed the back of his neck and cast his eyes downwards. 'Well, Ethan of course. I mean, maybe he didn't see her for sure, but there's still a chance considering he was in the mine for more than a month. I've got to check up on him anyways, so we'll kill two birds with one stone. I mean, I've told him to rest for a bit, especially after the panic attack he had, but knowing him, he probably didn't lay down for a second'. Noah rolled his eyes as if though he annoyed slightly by Ethan, but I could still see a smile breaking out on his face. I chuckled silently as Noah looked at me curiously with his cheecks a light red, but I just shook my head and we spent the rest of our walk to Ethan's room in silence.
Once we came to the right room, Noah quietly opened the door to see if Ethan was resting, but as soon I saw the annoyed yet somehow fond look on his face, I knew that Ethan was wide awake. I followed him and stepped into Ethan's room, which was quite similar to mine. Noah was sitting on Ethan's bed looking at him disapprovingly. The other was looking at Noah with guilt in his eyes, but I could see that he was trying to hide a smile. Noah was even trying to lay Ethan down on the bed, so that he would be resting at least a little bit while we told him the news, but Ethan just swatted his hands away from him with a smile and a slight blush on his cheecks. He then sat next to Noah at the foot of his bed and looked up at me with questioning gaze.
I realized that if we weren't kidnapped by Eztli, I probably wouldn't have met Ethan and he probably wouldn't meet Noah. As I looked at Ethan and Noah sitting on the bed, both a little bit tired, but with smiles on their faces, I couldn't help but imagine what our life's would be like if we didn't go through what we did and if we already knew each other. Tim would be ok, and he and I would probably be going to the skatepark every day, trying out new tricks and then going out for ice cream afterwards. Considering Tim's dad is a cop, I was also guessing that Tim would get along pretty well with Noah too. In general, I think that Noah, Ethan and Tim would be great friends. When we'd be free on the weekends, we could all go swimming to that river that we went to with our class. Especially Noah and Ethan wouldn't have to face so much hate and horror from Eztli and Stone, they really didn't deserve that. But then reality crashed down on me and in that moment, I realized three very important things. The first one was that right now, we had to deal with the situation that we were currently faced with, aka Doctor Rachel Davis. Secondly, if I were to spend too much time dreaming and imagining things, I would become depressed as soon as I came back to the real world and find it so different from what I imagined and dreamed of, so much worse and sadder. And the third thing? I realized that we could still have that almost life I imagined. Yes, Tim, Ethan and I would still have endless nightmares and traumas of the mine, but we could find peace in each other. Noah and Ethan would still endure hate from other people for being… well, whatever they were right now. I guess more than friends? I smiled to myself. But no matter what, we'd stand by each other's sides and that's what's truly important. Because yes, most of the times tragedy brings so much sadness and anger and things you think you will never be able to recover from. But sometimes, it can create the most beautiful things and bring together people that were destined to meet. And I may not believe in destiny or fate entirely, but one thing is definitely true. Destiny may decide who you meet in life, but your heart's the one that decides whether they stay in your life or not. But first, Tim would have to wake up, God, I missed him so much!
I sat down on a chair opposite of Ethan's bed and looked at the pair in front of me. Ethan looked considerably better than he did before, and I was glad to see that. I then looked at Noah and he nodded and started speaking. 'So, Ethan, Juliet and I went to the first floor before and she thinks she saw Doctor Rachel Davis. Now the problem is, neither of us are completely sure if it was really her, because she saw her for such a small amount of time. But since you were both held captive in the same place, I just thought we could ask you if you ever saw her or would be able to recognize her if I were to show you a photo of her. Don't worry, just the one question, I promise I'm not going to let you have another attack and even if you do, I'll be right here to help you through it, I promise you that Ethan.' I looked at Ethan and saw that his face was as white as wall. He nodded though 'Yeah, I uh, I…' his voice cracked slightly, and he cleared his throat to cover it up. Noah rubbed his back and urged him to continue. 'I uhm, I can try. I saw a woman in there with Aar-Eztli, a lot, I just didn't know her name. She usually wore dark clothes however, so I just thought that she was helping Eztli kidnap other people or something along those lines anyways. But if you show me a picture of her, I could probably recognize her.' 'Ok.' Noah said. He rubbed Ethan's arm and looked at him in worry. 'Are you ok? I'm just going to step outside for a moment alright, so I can call Stone and get a photo of Doctor Davis.' He stood up and looked down at the two of us. 'Yeah, Noah don't worry about it, I'm gonna be fine with Juliet. You go on and do your work, we'll be right here when you come back.' Ethan answered with a slight smile, which Noah returned and then left the room. When the door closed behind him, I turned to Ethan. 'So, really, how are you? I mean, I know you're better, you seem like it too and I know you're probably really annoyed by people asking you this, I mean I know I am. I know that most people mean well, but when the hundredth person asks me how I'm doing even right after I tell them I'm ok, I sometimes just feel like saying "hey, you know, feel free to shut the hell up, I insist." 'You know what I mean?' Ethan looked up and smiled a bit bigger and shook his head, but I could feel he was trying not to laugh by the way his shoulders were shaking. 'Yeah, I know what you mean Jules, but yeah I'm fine. I mean yeah, it may not be everyday you get kidnapped by your psychotic brother and his co-worker, but… I don't know, everything's just so crazy right now to honest. I mean a bit over a month ago, I had a somehow normal life, a good foster family and everything and now I'm just…' he shook his head again and looked at the ground. 'I don't know what to do Juliet, I really don't.' he lifted his head again and I could see tears in his eyes, 'I mean, Aaron James is my brother, but at the same time he's also Eztli, this psychotic maniac that kidnapped me, you, Tim and countless other girls and sold their organs and killed them…' he buried his head in his hands and in that moment the door opened again and Noah and Stone walked through them. Noah was carrying a photo which I assumed had Doctor Davis on it while Stone was looking at something on his phone. When Stone saw what was going on, he mumbled something along the lines of 'I'll wait outside' and then exited the room.
Noah however quietly but quickly put the photo down on the nightstand and sat down next to Ethan and then wrapped his hands around his shaking frame. Ethan turned towards him and buried his head in the crook of Noah's neck and wrapped his arms around his neck and cried quietly. I could see that he was still shaking slightly, but he was slowly stopping. Noah rubbed his back with one hand and ran his hand through his hair with the other while whispering to Ethan. 'Hey, I'm here. Ethan, I'm here for you alright, everything's going to be ok, just hold on.' After a while Ethan stopped crying but kept his head buried in the crook of Noah's neck for a few more seconds before lifting it and looking up at Noah. 'See? Everything's going to be okay, don't you worry about it.' He then wiped Ethan's tears away with his thumb and gave him a sideways hug before releasing him. They then turned towards me again. 'Hey, I uh, I'm sorry about that Jules, I don't know what happened I just freaked out a bit a guess' Ethan said, 'Don't worry, we're all human after all'. He nodded and then looked towards the photo that was facing down on the nightstand next to his bed. 'So uh, is that the photo?' 'Yeah, hold up for a second you two, I have to call Stone so that he can see it too. Juliet, why don't you sit next to Ethan for a sec, so you'll both be able to look at it at the same time.' I nodded and then sat down on the bed next to Ethan while Noah went to get Stone. They came back and Noah looked at us again. 'You two sure you're ready for this?' Ethan and I looked at each other and then nodded. 'Alright then, here you go.' He handed us the photo. On it, there were eight people in white hospital personnel gowns, smiling at the camera. In the middle stood a woman with her hair in a tight ponytail. She held a big paper check in her hands that said '50 000 dollars to the paediatric floor of the Red Haefair hospital'. Because everyone was dressed so nicely and smiling, I almost didn't recognize her. But then I saw her. She was the woman holding the paper check! Right in the middle of them, was Doctor Rachel Davis. And when I heard Ethan gasp next to me, I knew he saw her too. We looked at each other and nodded. We gave the photo back to Noah and Ethan spoke up. 'That's her. The one in the middle holding the check, that's Doctor Rachel Davis.' 'Alright. I'll ask the hospital staff about her, she's probably still here' with that Stone left the room. I looked at the clock on the wall and saw that my parents were going to come and get me in less than 10 minutes. I sighed and looked down.
I couldn't just leave now! I mean, Ethan still wasn't 100% ok, but he had Noah to keep him safe. Tim however… his parents aren't going to be here anytime soon; it didn't feel right to just leave him here all alone. Because yes, he may be in a coma right now, but I think that he can still hear people around him and if there's no one there with him, that's so lonely. And being lonely is not the same as being alone, not really. Being lonely is the feeling that no one cares, and I would never want to make anyone feel that way. Because that's way I used to feel some time ago, at my old school. And those feelings, those memories I still carry with me to this very day, even though no matter how much I want to forget them I just can't, because they always come bubbling back up to the surface. Those feelings sucked. Of course, I missed my parents and my home and my friends and my school, but Tim, Noah and Ethan, they were friends I met a different way, and, in a way, I felt closer to them. I just really didn't know what to do right know. I knew what I wanted, of course I did. I wanted the police to catch Doctor Davis and to put her and Eztli in prison, but more than that, I wanted Tim to wake up. But if I knew one thing, I knew that nothing is ever that easy, not really. There's always so many complications along the way, so many things that can go wrong so easily.
I was disrupted from my dreams by a door opening and I looked up. Standing at the open door was Stone, who had a worried look on his face. He glanced at Ethan and I and then his eyes stopped at Noah. 'We have a problem. I asked the hospital staff if I could talk to Doctor Rachel Davis, but it seemed as if though she already left work even though she was supposed to work for three more hours today. I got a number of her landlord, but when I called him to ask whether she was home already or what time he saw her last the things got complicated.' Noah looked up at Stone in confusion. 'Complicated? Meaning what exactly? That she wasn't home yet? She would need some time to get from the hospital to her home.' Stone shook his head. 'No that's not what I meant. And the flat that she lives in is five minutes' drive away from here and she left about fifteen minutes ago. No, what I meant was, the landlord said that he never heard of anyone named Rachel Davis. When I described her to him, he told me that this woman, who introduced herself to him as Rachel Davis, rented one of his apartments four years ago, at which time she started working as a surgeon in this hospital. Now call me crazy, but I don't think that's a coincidence. Now as for why he didn't remember her when I first asked him about her. Apparently ever since the day she rented the apartment she hasn't spent a day there. The only times he ever sees her is when she comes to get her mail and she always mails him the rent, so it's obvious he doesn't see her that often or remembers him that well.' Ethan shook his head and asked the question we have all been wondering. 'But why would she do that? Rent an apartment and never spend a single day there? More importantly, what does all this mean?' Stone answered him while looking at the ground. 'She did that to keep a cover, a fake address, probably a fake name too. But most importantly it means…'
Stone looked up and sighed. 'It means, mister Castro that we have no idea where or who Doctor Rachel is. We lost her again and don't know where to look.'